New Xbox One on Sale in the U.S. Just in Time for the Holidays

by Burke Speaker | September 4, 2013 11:20 am

New Xbox One on Sale in the U.S. Just in Time for the Holidays

Welcome news for gamers:

The new Xbox One (MSFT[1]) arrives in the U.S. on Nov. 22, just in time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday and strategically positioned between the U.S. and European launch dates for Sony’s (SNE[2]) PS4.

From the Guardian:[3]

Xbox One console has had a rough journey toward its launch. Microsoft’s initial focus on the video-on-demand and live television capabilities of its machine alienated gamers, as did early indications that the console would restrict the sale of pre-owned games and that the Kinect camera device would need to be permanently switched on for games to work. Microsoft later controversially reversed these policies and since then has worked to improve the image of its device. The company enjoyed a comparatively successful showing at the recent Gamescom festival in Cologne, revealing a Call of Duty console bundle deal, as well as free copies of Fifa 14 for pre-orders of the special Day one edition of the machine.

With both “next-generation” consoles arriving on shop shelves within weeks of each other, this is one of the closest console wars the industry has seen. There was almost a year between the debut of the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3, for example.

Industry insiders hope both releases will help boost the $60 billion a year gaming industry, as software and hardware sales have been sluggish in the past two years.